Just bought Yamaha YHT-299

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jeevanreddy58 said:
Where did you go for the audition of other home theater systems..
i am also from hyd (alwal)..

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi,
I have auditioned the following places,
1. Onkyo Sight and Sound pvt ltd, Begumpet
2. Yamha AV Square, Somajiguda Circle
3. Jbl store, Film Nagar, Jubilee Hills
4. Reliance Digital, Road No 12, Banjara hills

If you want to audition varios brands u can go for Banjara hills Reliance Digital. They have decent collection of HTIB's compared to other stores of Reliance digital and Cromas. They have most of the Entry level HTIB's from Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer and Yamaha. They had the Boston speaker package, Jamo speaker package etc.. Its a decent store and the guy who was explaining was very patient and good.

Yamaha AV Square is pretty good. Infact my audition of YHT 299 at this store proved to the decisive factor. But the store guys are not that proffessional. But thats ok, they are courteous enough and allowed to audition it the way I want.

Jbl audition room is very good. The guy over there was not really willing to give me full fledged audition at the start. I had to talk to him and some how convince him that I was interested in buying it. Only then he was letting me in.

Onkyo store was OK. There were only 2 guys when I went there and they looked pretty amateurish. Even their audition room was average compared to others. But the systems are solid though.

I have been to Audio People, Jubilee hills recently with a friend of mine. Its a fantastic store. Highly recommend it. Its the best store that I have visited in Hyderabad.

Hope this helps

Thanks,
Sandeep.
 
skul82 said:
Which source device are you using to play DVDs, check the output of device and see if its properly set to output DD sound.

And, as for YPAO, not many recommend using it, though, what you can try is, first note down all the settings done by the installation guy. Run YPAO, tweak those further, if you dont like it then revert back to the original. Better try tweaking it manually from what you have right now.
Click to expand...

I am playing dvd from philips BD player. The audio source is displayed as dolby digital but in straight mode it displays only 2.1. When i shift to neo 6 mode it goes to 5.1 but i think it is virtual 5.1 and do not give great AQ. Although blu ray like avtaar displays 5.1 in straight mod
When I keep the straight mode on.
thanks for the suggestions on ypao. I will note down the settings before doing ypao calibration.
 
Hi,
I have shifted homes. And in the new home I wanted to get my YHT 299 installed properly. So, I have called up Yamaha guys for installation and here is what I have got from them,
There will be 2 visits from them. On First Visit, they will check the house and home theater area and give us the speaker points and stuff. They will not be doing the wire casing and stuff. We have to get it done by ourselves by a local electrician. After acquiring the required things, there will be second visit when they will install the system. They are charging 1000/- for that.

Is it worth it. Can some one suggest?

Thanks,
Sandeep.
 
I also got the installation done by the yamaha technician for my yht 299.. They charged me around 3000 bucks but it included everything like wiring and speaker mounting brackets. Each bracket costed around 500 bucks. But these are important as these are movable which is important for sound accoustics.
 
i think you can, using a splitter/y cable. Why do you need it though (unless u r a bass freak)? Other option you can try is, set fronts to Large and keep Extra Bass ON. That way your fronts and sub both give you bass. Thats what i have done.
Click to expand...

Skul Bhai, I am planning to purchase YHT 299 by next month and want to know can i fit my JBL 1250 Basstube which i bought for car in Yamaha's AVR or not (As I am seeing that Yamaha is giving active sub with this model and active sub has own amp in enclosure(Not Sure about this info:o). I will not fit the basstube permanently, i want to do that just for testing.
Waiting for a prompt reply from your side:cool:
 
sandeep.bommakanti said:
Hi All,

I am a newbie to this forum. I do not know much about the technicalities of home theaters but my old sony HT system has almost died and was giving a very bad distortion from the surround speakers. So, decided to go for a HT with proper AVR this time. Do not want commit the same mistake twice by butying commercial home theater again.

After going through the demo of various models I finally went ahead with Yamaha YHT-299 couple of weeks back :yahoo: I was really impressed with its sound quality in the demo and is very much with in my budget range.
I have also been through the demos of Onkyo 7.1 and Pioneer RS-33.
Pioneer was a good system especially music was really good in Pioneer. For movies, Yamaha and Onkyo were better for me.

I must say it was a very close call between Onkyo and Yamaha. Finally went with Yamaha since it has 4k pass through and supports a lot of sound formats as well. Also, found that the quality of HD movie channels in Yamaha system is much better than that of Onkyo's. When you play a blu ray dis then you will hardly notice any difference. If you are playing a proper 7.1 blu ray then Onkyo's performance is just out of this world. But Onkyo had a lot of wait time (more than a month). So finally went with Yamaha.

Unfortunately never been through this website before I did the purchase.
But still I must say I am extremely happy with the sound quality and I am enjoying every bit of it. Especially the sound coming from the HD channels which give 5.1 surround is just too good.

HTIB costed me about 37k, bought phillips Blu ray player for 3k and went for extended warranty for 2 more years for another 2k. All in all it cost me about 42k.

I use it mostly for the movies. Saw Dark knight Rises last night in my system and it was simply awesome experience.

Thanks,
Sandeep.
Click to expand...
enjoy music
 
Someone please help I am planning to purchase YHT 299 by next month and want to know can i fit my JBL 1250 Basstube which i bought for car in Yamaha's AVR or not (As I am seeing that Yamaha is giving active sub with this model and active sub has own amp in enclosure(Not Sure about this info). I will not fit the basstube permanently, i want to do that just for testing.
Waiting for a prompt reply
 
Hi Sandeep

I am Eshan from Gurgaon. Been looking for a true review of this package for months. Glad I came across this page. Few months back I was wanting to buy JBL BD 100 so went and checked out the sound quality, which seemed pretty OK. The demo guy then showed my another piece of HTiB which was Onkyo S3500 which was way ahead of the JBL one. I took an instant liking to it. However, when I cross-checked with one of the other dealers, he denied keeping Onkyo and gave very bad reviews of it. It broke my momentum and I dropped the idea of going for any of the two.

Last week I revisited the first shop again and this around, he gave a demo of Yamaha YHT 299 as well. I listened to both Onkyo and Yamaha and I must admit, not being a sound expert, I could not tell a difference. Though he talked about 2 things - Yamaha support 4k pass through (don't have any idea about this) and that it has active sub-woofer. He also mentioned that it lacked 3D feature which is there in Onkyo S3500.

Price-wise, there ain't not much of a difference but am damn confused at this moment. Because I've reading a lot of reviews, I'm not able to make a decision.

I'd be very, very grateful to you or to anybody who could give me a genuine feedback and help me decide amongst the two. I seem to like both of them

Yamaha vs Onkyo as Brands. I don't know which has a better reputation, better reliability.

YHT 299 vs S3500 - if the features are exactly the same - is it really worth spending 5k extra for Yamaha.

Super confused I am!

Please help.

Thanks & regards
Eshan
 
eshan1983 said:
Hi Sandeep

I am Eshan from Gurgaon. Been looking for a true review of this package for months. Glad I came across this page. Few months back I was wanting to buy JBL BD 100 so went and checked out the sound quality, which seemed pretty OK. The demo guy then showed my another piece of HTiB which was Onkyo S3500 which was way ahead of the JBL one. I took an instant liking to it. However, when I cross-checked with one of the other dealers, he denied keeping Onkyo and gave very bad reviews of it. It broke my momentum and I dropped the idea of going for any of the two.

Last week I revisited the first shop again and this around, he gave a demo of Yamaha YHT 299 as well. I listened to both Onkyo and Yamaha and I must admit, not being a sound expert, I could not tell a difference. Though he talked about 2 things - Yamaha support 4k pass through (don't have any idea about this) and that it has active sub-woofer. He also mentioned that it lacked 3D feature which is there in Onkyo S3500.

Price-wise, there ain't not much of a difference but am damn confused at this moment. Because I've reading a lot of reviews, I'm not able to make a decision.

I'd be very, very grateful to you or to anybody who could give me a genuine feedback and help me decide amongst the two. I seem to like both of them

Yamaha vs Onkyo as Brands. I don't know which has a better reputation, better reliability.

YHT 299 vs S3500 - if the features are exactly the same - is it really worth spending 5k extra for Yamaha.

Super confused I am!

Please help.

Thanks & regards
Eshan
Click to expand...

Hi Eshan,
If you ask me, Both systems are fantastic. One of my friends says that Onkyo S3500 receiver has heating issues with it. I keep my receiver always on and beleive me it does not get heated up that much. Definitely heating is much lesser when compared to Onkyo's receiver.
What I really like YHT 299 is its low volume performance which is really good. I am not really sure of low volume performance Onkyo S3500.
In my demo of these systems I found out that for movies, both are good. For music, I liked Yamaha compared to Onkyo. So went ahead with Yamaha. You can also take a look at Denon system at a similar price range which is pretty good.
My suggestion would be to carry some Dolby digital clips on your USB drive, Ask the store guy to play the clips from your USB. Play it from all the systems that are available in store and then decide for yourself. Carry a couple of music files as well.
Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Sandeep.
 
Thanks for your review guys, i have bought the Yamaha YHT-299 last week & extremely happy with the decision. I am in Mumbai & bought it for 35K.

*cheers*
 
Thanks a lot Sandeep. I have so far read many reviews but none of them has really declared any one a winner. Some say that Yamaha is good for music and Onkyo is good for movies - now what is that supposed to mean?

Sandeep, since I'm in a hurry to buy one, could you please help me with my following queries which should help me decide:

1) Yamaha has an active subwoofer, does it make a difference?
2) Onkyo is 5k cheaper - are Yamaha's specs worthy enough to pay that much extra?
3) Is 4k pass though feature useful?
4) Talking of the brand - which one has a bigger name in the market - globally?
5) You've suggested me to carry some files, that's fine. But the store guy runs movies through a projector on a screen, I don't know if he'd be able to play "movies" from USB (cuz neither of the systems support video playback through USB). Audio files, again I couldn't tell a difference the last time around.
6) Both are 3D ready - right?
7) Yamaha have less Watt speakers - does it curb the sound a bit?
8) I like to listen to music during the weekdays a lot whenever I'm back from work - on VH1. Weekends I keep for movies - which one would suit me more?
9) I can play USB movies via my LED - the music could be played through the speakers - right?
10) Have had word with a few dealers - some day Onkyo is good, some say Yamaha has better post sale service - I'm completely going mad thinking about the two.

Please help.

Thanks again
Eshan
 
eshan1983 said:
Thanks a lot Sandeep. I have so far read many reviews but none of them has really declared any one a winner. Some say that Yamaha is good for music and Onkyo is good for movies - now what is that supposed to mean?

Sandeep, since I'm in a hurry to buy one, could you please help me with my following queries which should help me decide:

1) Yamaha has an active subwoofer, does it make a difference?
2) Onkyo is 5k cheaper - are Yamaha's specs worthy enough to pay that much extra?
3) Is 4k pass though feature useful?
4) Talking of the brand - which one has a bigger name in the market - globally?
5) You've suggested me to carry some files, that's fine. But the store guy runs movies through a projector on a screen, I don't know if he'd be able to play "movies" from USB (cuz neither of the systems support video playback through USB). Audio files, again I couldn't tell a difference the last time around.
6) Both are 3D ready - right?
7) Yamaha have less Watt speakers - does it curb the sound a bit?
8) I like to listen to music during the weekdays a lot whenever I'm back from work - on VH1. Weekends I keep for movies - which one would suit me more?
9) I can play USB movies via my LED - the music could be played through the speakers - right?
10) Have had word with a few dealers - some day Onkyo is good, some say Yamaha has better post sale service - I'm completely going mad thinking about the two.

Please help.

Thanks again
Eshan
Click to expand...

Hi Eshan,

I am not a big audiophile myself. So, all I can do is share my own experiences. I cannot really comment much about S3500 since I have only experienced it during demos. In Comparsion I can talk about YHT 299 alot since I am using it for the past 8 months now. So, I will try my best to answer your questions within my limited knowledge scope.

1) Yamaha has an active subwoofer, does it make a difference?
Well, Active subwoofer means it uses external power and usually it will have its own bult in amplifiers. With YHT 299 you can definitely adjust the output level of your Sub. Although its a small sub woofer its a good one and I guess its worth it.

2) Onkyo is 5k cheaper - are Yamaha's specs worthy enough to pay that much extra?
Speaking truly in terms of specs. Yamaha has an active sub which costs a few extra bucks and it has 4k pass through to be future ready. Every thing else pretty much the same I guess.

3) Is 4k pass though feature useful?
Well 4k pass through is not useful as of now. But it should be helpful in the future when you will lots of 4k videos available.

4) Talking of the brand - which one has a bigger name in the market - globally?
Well, I am not really sure about this one. I would rather go by what I experience in the demo than going for the brand value. Both Yamaha and Onkyo have pros and cons.

5) You've suggested me to carry some files, that's fine. But the store guy runs movies through a projector on a screen, I don't know if he'd be able to play "movies" from USB (cuz neither of the systems support video playback through USB). Audio files, again I couldn't tell a difference the last time around.
Well, In all probability that projector would be connected the Amplifier which in turn will be connected to a Blu ray Player which should have USB port. Just make sure to carry Video content in all possible formats that you know. mkv, mp4, vob to name a few. This should ensure that everything is playable on his player.

6) Both are 3D ready - right?
Yes, they are

7) Yamaha have less Watt speakers - does it curb the sound a bit?
To me I have never considered the output wattage of speakers when choosing a home theater. All I can say is it depends on your room dimensions In use it in a living room which is a decent sized one, and never did I face the problem of low wattage of speakers.(My parents do complain about high volume though ;) )

8) I like to listen to music during the weekdays a lot whenever I'm back from work - on VH1. Weekends I keep for movies - which one would suit me more?
Well, For Music I would say Yamaha any day. Atleast thats how it seemed when I was auditioning for HTIB's.

9) I can play USB movies via my LED - the music could be played through the speakers - right?
Yes, you can do it. There are lots of threads on connections. Just go through them. Our forum should help you out.

10) Have had word with a few dealers - some day Onkyo is good, some say Yamaha has better post sale service - I'm completely going mad thinking about the two.
I have not really had any problems with YHT 299 so far. So, never had the experience of post sale service. So, cant really comment on this.

Well, go for audition and spend as much time as you can before taking your call. Both are pretty good systems and to me Yamaha sounded better when I have auditioned it. So, went ahead with it.
Hope my reply helps.

Thanks,
Sandeep.
 
Well, Sandeep, you're proving out be my savior:)

Thanks a ton man!

I spoke with one of the guys at Yamaha India Pvt Ltd this morning and he completely brainwashed me against Onkyo or for that matter, even Denon. I have almost finalized on Yamaha 299.

Though he suggested that I must not be playing movies (HD/ 1080p/ dolby digital 5.1) via USB directly through my LED TV. He said the TVs usually degrades the output and suggested that I should certainly buy a bluray disc player and play the USB through it. Is this true?

Suggest me a good video which I should carry - which has good amount of detectable surround sound. I can download it from torrent. Also, if you've got some audio 5.1 files, could you share with me a few. I'd be visiting the store tomorrow and most probably for closing the deal.

Also, kindly suggest a decent (not very expensive) bluray player.

Can't thank you enough for this continued help.

Best regards
Eshan
 
eshan1983 said:
Well, Sandeep, you're proving out be my savior:)

Thanks a ton man!

I spoke with one of the guys at Yamaha India Pvt Ltd this morning and he completely brainwashed me against Onkyo or for that matter, even Denon. I have almost finalized on Yamaha 299.

Though he suggested that I must not be playing movies (HD/ 1080p/ dolby digital 5.1) via USB directly through my LED TV. He said the TVs usually degrades the output and suggested that I should certainly buy a bluray disc player and play the USB through it. Is this true?

Suggest me a good video which I should carry - which has good amount of detectable surround sound. I can download it from torrent. Also, if you've got some audio 5.1 files, could you share with me a few. I'd be visiting the store tomorrow and most probably for closing the deal.

Also, kindly suggest a decent (not very expensive) bluray player.

Can't thank you enough for this continued help.

Best regards
Eshan
Click to expand...

Hi Eshan,

Even I never use USB port on tv to play any movies. I play it through my Phillips BD Player which is very very basic but works for me. I mean, it reads my 1 TB external hard drive without any problem and I play movies through my hard drive. It can play subtitles as well. So, I am ok with it. I have bought this HTIB in Reliance digital and when I bought it there was some offer going on BDP's. So, I have got the Phillips Blu ray player for 3k. I don't exactly remember its original price.

Well Just carry anything that you like. For audio files, carry standard 320kbps mp3 files and flac files as well. My suggestion would be to not go for 5.1 Audio files. I think you will get to know the real feel of the system when you music files in 2ch.

For movies, go for movie which has 6ch audio out. Try carrying all types of Videos like fight sequences, a scene which lots of dialogs, Video songs etc.. Just make sure to test the systems in all possible ways before taking your call. Also, if possible ask the store guy to play any standard hd channels from DTH like Star Movies HD, Movies now HD, Star Gold HD etc.. You will get 5.1 output from those channels. So, just test those as well.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Sandeep.
 
Last edited:
Hi Sandeep

I went to the store today and took a full demo, carried my files as you had suggested but to my disappointment, the Yamaha could not detect the sound files I had in my pen drive. The Onkyo was able to locate a few of them, not all.

I then connected my phone through AUX cable and at high volumes, the Yamaha did produce distorted sound, but the technician told me that's the case with every system out there when you play the music at the highest volume. Honestly, I still couldn't tell a difference between the two. He mentioned that the Onkyo's bass was loose while the Yamaha's was tight so he recommended me Yamaha over the Onkyo - I don't know what he meant by that.

So, I have planned to go there tomorrow again with few more files and this time I'm making a purchase, for sure. Only Yamaha would be considered since it has good service.

Sadly, neither of them could play flac files. I had downloaded a large sized 1080p movie with 5.1ch sound but the display in the AVR showed PCM and not DTS i.e. the sound was actually not digital dolby. Huff...where do I find this stuff on the internet?

Any more suggestions, brother?

Regards
Eshan
 
Hi Eshan,

Yes both the avr's will not play flac files.. However most of the blu ray players do play flac files.. So try playing them by connecting usb to bdplayer. Try searching for dolby content.. You will get it..

Thanks,
Sandeep
 
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